Category Strategy Overview: Professional Services
CATEGORY STATUS OVERVIEW Key Contacts Status RAG CFO Category Lead: Chris Strickland Category Commercial Lead: Tracey Stradling Currently analysing spend analysis and contract / pipeline data to identify potential areas for improvements, savings and efficiencies. Early stages of planning Fire Specific Training project (led by Kent FRS) Category Description The Fire and Rescue Service as a whole spends a significant amount on professional services which includes Financial Services, Corporate Training and Consultancy, Apprenticeships, Human Resources and Fire Specific Training. The landscape is changing rapidly with a duty being placed on organisations to collaborate. There are already collaborations happening across the country between FRS s and FRS s and Police or Local Authority Partners and that must be taken into consideration and recognised in this. Key Stakeholders NFCC FCTP Strategic Commercial Board Key Suppliers FRSs/FRAs Home Office PBO s (CCS etc.) Employee Rep Bodies Professional Services - 102m pa (Bravo data) Savings Target Training & Conferences Temporary & Agency Staff Financial Services (Inc. Insurance) Health Care TBC 30m 30% of Category 1,472 suppliers 43 FRSs with 10m 10% of Category 135 suppliers 35 FRSs with 37m 36% of Category 336 suppliers 35 FRSs with 5m 5% of Category 396 suppliers 43 FRSs with 81% of Category Expenditure covered by the 4 sub-categories above
STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES This strategy sets out the early vision for the management of Professional Services The aim of this strategy initially is to produce quality and as much as is possible standardised training and services across the sector, whilst opening up opportunities for collaboration and sharing of best practice, in response to the needs of individual fire and rescue services. Where possible we should look to open up opportunities for the wider emergency services and public sector. In doing so the aim is to deliver optimum value for money both on tangible savings and resource time across the sector(s). Through this it is hoped that we can build effective relationships between fire and rescue services, suppliers, training providers, accreditation bodies and existing buying organisations by utilising existing fit for purpose frameworks and letting new frameworks. It is hoped that as a sector we can strengthen the contract management in these areas to ensure we are receiving the most advantageous terms and up to date information and consistency across the sector. To do this effectively we will need the commitment and buy in from all Fire and Rescue Services to work with us to deliver the key priorities nationally as well recognising and supporting their individual priorities. We will also need to ensure suppliers and buying organisations understand our aims and how they can support us. The ambition within this is to be able to strengthen the fire and rescue services purchasing power and leverage to optimise value for money and achieve where possible standardisation across the sector, this would support workforce development and further interoperability between services. Therefore moving forward utilising the information provided from the spend analysis and pipelines exercises to be in a position to let compliant contracts / frameworks for use by all FRS s and where possible other emergency services and agencies that provide consistency and standardisation and enabling opportunities for sharing best practices and benchmarking. This strategy will also signpost organisations to existing frameworks. This strategy will address gaps in market and initially focus on fire service or emergency service specific contracts/ frameworks and utilise what currently available for non fire specific services and training.
SUBCATEGORY SPEND Sub-Category Annual Expenditure (15/16) % Category Key Suppliers Training & Conferences 30,249,923 30%Babcock, Capita Temporary & Agency Staff 10,045,951 10%Adecco, Hays, Reed Fire & Rescue Indemnity Co Ltd, Zurich, Financial Services 37,060,592 36% Canada Life, Arthur J Gallagher Healthcare 5,538,621 5% Health Management Ltd, Health Work Ltd Other Sub-Categories 19,353,248 19% N/A Professional Services - Annual Expenditure (15/16) 5% 19% 30% 10% 36% Training & Conferences Temporary & Agency Staff Financial Services Healthcare Other Sub-Categories
FUTURE/PRIORITY PROJECTS Key In Progress - Post Procurement (Contract Key/Priority Activity/Projects Activity Not Started All timelines are indicative and subject to change Category Sub- Category/Activity Description Apr-17 May-17 Jun-17 Jul-17 Aug-17 Sep-17 Oct-17 Nov-17 Dec-17 Jan-18 Feb-18 Mar-18 Apr-18 May-18 Jun-18 Jul-18 Aug-18 Sep-18 Oct-18 Nov-18 Dec-18 Jan-19 Feb-19 Mar-19 Training Fire Specific Training Strategy Procurement Contract Management PROFESSIONAL SERVICES Finance Apprenticeships Engage FRS to use the Fire & Rescue Indemnity Company (Mutual) Apprenticeships in Fire Specific Roles Contract Management & Collaborative Opportunities Strategy Procurement Contract Management HR Temporary & Agency Staff Strategy
RISKS & OPPORTUNITIES Risks Opportunities Difficult to standardise across the various fire and rescue services / difficulty of getting consistency Different risk profiles and IRMP s across the services Differing needs and priorities within different services Lack of resources within other FRS s to support the Geographical mark ups for service contracts Alliance to particular providers especially for contracts involving personnel Difficulty attracting contractors due to IR35 legislation. Ensuring we continue to support SME s Local Businesses Fail to deliver Lord Young Reforms Many organisations now use on line, e-learning systems rather than class room, consultant style training therefore the demand decreases Only the big players bidding for contracts / frameworks Limited appetite for collaboration in some Fire and Rescue Services The Authorities don t realise the expected savings, which may not be tangible but in use of resources Procurement teams may have to rewrite their procurement strategies Fire and Rescue Service as a whole not seen as big enough to have fire specific contracts Unable to get consistency across the sector Authorities may be having to explore collaboration opportunities with their police neighbours and county council partners There may be a number of long term contracts already in place Demand doesn t meet the expectation of the suppliers Ability to standardise and deliver the ambitions of the Minister with regard to improved development and leadership, national standards being built into contracts Opportunity to share best practice and benchmark with other FRS s and wider emergency services Standardised training throughout the Sector which meets National Occupational Guidance and accreditations Time savings having call off contracts rather than each fire and rescue service procuring the same services Monetary savings through standardisation and leverage where applicable Minimise the land and expand culture within consultancy contracts with tighter contract management and clearly defined scopes of work. With changes in legislation around GDPR and IR35 this could be addressed through standardised contracts. To have something in place to support the apprenticeships Better supply chain visibility Better understanding of the and suppliers Consistent delivery of training and professional services
SAVINGS TARGET Category Annual Expenditure (from Bravo Data) Savings Opportunity (%) Savings Opportunity ( ) Professional Services 102m TBC TBC Savings Commentary The aim is to simplify processes for external spend reduction through early supplier involvement and growing supplier diversity. It is important to understand that that this shouldn t be perceived as a cost cutting exercise to procure inferior contractors/courses/services it must be promoted as an opportunity to standardise, work on better collaborations and better use of resources. Any savings made in the process will be used to protect the front line. The process is about having better and wider sector knowledge about requirements and to reduce transactional/administrative costs when running tenders. The savings for this in the initial stages will come from having frameworks in place for training, which has been designed to be fit for purpose across the sector and therefore reducing the need for individual FRS s to design and procure courses both for fire specific training and apprenticeships, taking leverage where we can for attendance on courses and where possible reduce the impact on inflation and better demand knowledge which will lead to better unit prices for training and at that point we should be able to start to estimate savings. Savings will come from standardisation, reduction in procurement costs, courses being run to capacity and better demand forecasting and continuing value for money can only be achieved from good performance of the resultant contracts.